During these uncertain times, organizations are contending with constant change. Your business today might not look like it did a few months ago. Your goals for 2020 may have had to change. Discussions around the boardroom table, or more likely – discussions over a video platform with kids and pets in the background – may be about resiliency and a fresh approach. But money may be tight in your organization right now. And it can be challenging to find affordable new talent.
Here are four quick steps to a solution to help build resiliency in your organization.
Step one: Finding talent
Co-op students combine academic excellence and real-world experiences to bring value and a fresh perspective to your organization right from the start. With built-in flexibility to the process of hiring, they can offer year-round availability anywhere from 8 – 16 weeks at a time anywhere in Canada. And with the world’s largest student talent pool in your backyard, you know you can find the skilled hires you need right away.
Step two: Funding talent
There are several grants, tax credits and funding programs that subsidize the cost of your hire. For example, the Government of Canada’s Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) covers up to 75% of the wage cost per student, and you can also access provincial tax credits. Another way to look at it is like this: the cost of hiring four co-op students is equivalent to hiring just one full-time employee.
Step three: Affordable talent with all the right skills
And what’s more, at the University of Waterloo, we’re equipping our students to have the skills needed right now in this climate. As many small- and medium-sized enterprises look to move to digital platforms, our students have access to a new and dynamic Digital Skills Fundamentals course. This was designed during the global pandemic to give co-op students the skills they need to help businesses build a strong digital presence. If you hire our students, you can request that they enrol in any of these courses as part of your onboarding process.
Step four: Put UWaterloo’s Co-op team to work for you, today
We have a team of local staff dedicated to helping you through the entire co-op hiring process, including the preparation of a job description AND sharing top tips for managing students remotely. Ready to learn more? Reach out to Marg Johnston:
Margaret Johnston
Business Developer, Co-operative Education
University of Waterloo
226-220-2321
